Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) is expanding its footprint in Kentucky with the opening of Owensboro Racing & Gaming in the first quarter of 2025, which will be an extension of Ellis Park horse track in Henderson, Kentucky.
Lucky 7
Owensboro Racing & Gaming will be Churchill Downs’ seventh historical horse racing entertainment facility in the Bluegrass State. The iconic horse racing company recently announced that it has already broken ground and is hoping to be finished and ready to welcome customers roughly a year from now.
Bill Carstanjen, Churchill Downs CEO, issued a press release that said, “In addition to delivering a premier gaming and entertainment experience to Daviess County, this project will build on the success of Ellis Park’s racing product and further contribute to a healthy and sustainable horse racing circuit in Kentucky.”
The cost of the project is estimated to be $100 million. It will serve as an annex of Ellis Park Racing & Gaming, more commonly known as Ellis Park, and its economic impact on the community is estimated to be $125 million per annum, which will help augment the purses for Ellis Park’s live summer racing meet. Approximately 200 construction jobs and 150 permanent jobs will be required to finish and maintain the project.
“We are proud to announce this investment in the Kentucky horse racing industry as we celebrate 150 years of the Kentucky Derby,” said Carstanjen.
The Blueprint
The facility is expected to house 600 historical racing machines (HRMs), a retail sportsbook, as well as simulcast wagering. The entire square footage of the facility is expected to be over 71,000 square feet with a designated smoking section separated from the main area by a vestibule area. Food and beverage options will also be available throughout the facility.
Calhoun Construction of Louisville is the general contractor of record while the blueprints were designed and created by Sosh Architects of Atlantic City, New Jersey. The current specifications show 624 parking spaces with all but about 100 of them dedicated to customer parking. There is additional room for an additional 33,000 square foot expansion on the plots’ southeast corner.
Historical Horse Racing
Historical horse racing games have become popular over the last few years and although they look like a slot machine, they are different in that the results mirror actual horse races that have taken place in the past. The names of the horses, jockeys, and trainers are not revealed until after the virtual race but the handicapping information is provided to the bettor in advance.
Elisabeth Jansen, Executive Vice President of the Kentucky Equine Education Alliance (KEEP), an industry organization, said a few years ago, “If it were not for historical horse racing, Ellis Park would be closed and Churchill Downs would not be rebuilding Turfway Park. Without historical horse racing, we would have a few days of racing at Churchill Downs and a few days of racing at Keeneland and that would be about it.”
State Sen. Damon Thayer, a Republican from Northern Kentucky, has been quoted as saying, “Purses are the mother’s milk of horse racing from which all else flows.” And it is the revenue from these historical racing machines that bolsters purses and attracts a better caliber of horse which leads to bigger races, more interest, and ultimately a higher handle at the betting windows.
